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Gas tank stripping, inside and outside

  • Thread starter Thread starter sabreman-v65
  • Start date Start date
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sabreman-v65

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Can anyone recommend a process or company that can clean a gas tank inside and out , removing paint, rust and a failed Por-15 gas tank liner? Cost?
 
I've done it before using high strength paint stripper along with aquarium rocks. Took a number of cycles over several days. Not fun. I've heard of people using radiator shops but I'm skeptical of the quality - if you go this way I'd ask to see the tank after they strip it. You can see inside using a flashlight through the petcock and sender unit holes. After the tank is stripped, seal it using your favorite technique.

If you have the money, I'd send the tank to these guys... http://www.gas-tank.com/bike.htm
 
My local radiator shop did it for me. I took it to them to clean the rust out from the inside of a practically flawless tank, and when I got it back I had a practically flawless tank, with no rust or paint.

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I had guy at a radiator shop tell me that if the tank has been sealed, he most likely wouldn't get the sealer out of it. aybe he just didn't want to bother with it.
 
MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) will probaby dissolve the coating. Check the coating makers website to see if they recommend a method for removal.
 
I dumped a bottle of Acetone inside the tank and dissolved all the previous owners attempts at using tank sealer. Much of it came out in goopy strings the first go around, so I washed again with another bottle.

After that I sent it to a radiator shop, had everything boiled out if it and sealed correctly. Total cost, under $70
 
I've stripped both failed Kreem and Por-15 sealer jobs. The Kreem came out pretty easy but the Por-15 sealer was significantly tougher. Kreem turned to mush with the paint stripper, Por sealer never really got soft, rather it came off in pieces. The stripper sort of works under the sealer. Por-15 sells their own brand of stripper which works as well as anything. I tried different solvents like acetone and it didn't seem to touch the Por sealer. I didn't try MEK.

My advice is to fabricate some good plugs out of metal and sheet rubber, get a gallon of aircraft paint stripper, a couple gallons of paint thinner, and a large bag of aquarium rocks. Dump in about a quart of stripper, a good sized scoop of rocks, and plug everything up and start shaking. When you get tired, position the tank to allow the sauce to dwell in one area of the tank. After an hour or so, shake some more and turn the tank to allow the solution to soak in a different side of the tank. Rotate and shake every hour or so. After a day or so the stripper will be spent so clean out the tank with some of that paint thinner and start again. It will take several applications to get all the sealer out. Eventually you will get it so just take your time and accept the challenge.

After the sealer is all out, start again with more rocks and phosphoric acid to remove the rust. Same thing; rotate and shake. Tank will be rust free in a few days. The phosphoric acid will leave behind a chalky residue so the aquarium rocks are important to scrub the metal before you go to the sealer stage.

I've done two tanks this way and both turned out perfectly. Takes a lot of time but it can be done.

Good luck and hope this helps.

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